SPRINGFIELD – On a muggy, miserably hot 90-degree afternoon in Springfield Tuesday, the Putnam football team showed up at Blunt Park and started hitting right away.

Immediately after the start of practice, the Beavers got into the Oklahoma drill. Quarterback Josh Ortiz made a handoff to a running back, and defensive players went head-to-head with a blocker, trying to shed their man and get to the ball carrier.

The drill is a physically demanding, bruising exercise that’s especially tough on a hot day, but the Putnam players seemed to relish the chance to size up their teammates one-on-one.

“If you think you’re a varsity player, jump in,” first-year coach Bill Scott called to the players lined up on the field.

One player, senior captain Larry Charles, did not need any encouragement from his coach to get involved. The fullback and linebacker was constantly working his way into the mix every chance he could.

“In the drill he kept jumping in and I had to pull him out. Larry’s about 5-8, 170 pounds but he plays like he’s 6-2, 240. He just gives it everything,” Scott said.

The Beavers are coming off a 4-6 season, ending their year on a three-game winning streak with wins over Holyoke, Chicopee and Chicopee Comp. After the season, coach Bill Watson moved to the Central coaching staff, and was replaced by Scott.

Charles said the players have done a nice job getting used to the switch.

“At first it was kind of hard adjusting, but we saw we have to come together, believe in the system, trust the new coach, and we’ll get things done,” Charles said.

Scott brings with him the Wing-T offensive system from his days an assistant coach under Alex Rotsko at Longmeadow, but said that defense will be a point of focus early.

“Everyone wants to talk about our offense, and I know that’s an important piece with the Wing T, controlling the ball, but I think this year we’re hoping to hang our hat on defense. I think we’re going to be defensively sound,” Scott said.

“We expect to turn some heads this year," Denson said. "A lot of people are expecting us to go the same way we did last year and the year before, we as seniors really don’t want that to happen. For any of us."

“We’re going to be the underdogs, and we’re going to come hard,” Richardson added.

Offensively, senior quarterback and captain Ortiz will be under center, while the Beavers rotate in a group of backs that will include Charles among others. Ortiz is coming off a season in which he threw for 827 yards and 11 touchdowns with four interceptions.

Scott said the coaching staff will find ways to use Ortiz’s athleticism in the Wing-T concept.

“We tell our receivers just run and Josh will get it out there to you,” Scott said.

The Beavers open their season Sept. 12 against Commerce, a rematch of the 2011 Super Bowl which Putnam won under coach Lou Malvezzi, now an assistant with the program.